Sun streams into the atrium as a lone skater makes her way across the ice at the Plaza of the Americas rink. “This is a rink where most skaters in Dallas started [skating] or started coaching,” said Jane Kanicka, a former U.S. figure-skating champion who manages the rink. “They’ve all been here, one way or the other. They all love this rink.”

The new owners of downtown Dallas’ Plaza of the Americas plan to shut down its ice rink, where many a city socialite and Olympic hopeful learned to skate since it opened in 1980.

Several tenants in the 1.2 million-square-foot hotel-retail-office complex said they were told the rink, Americas Ice Garden, will be closed before Thanksgiving.

“It’s supposed to close Nov. 20, right before the holidays,” confirmed Jane Kanicka, a former U.S. figure-skating champion who manages the rink for Virginia-based Rink Management Services.

Kanicka and some tenants said the owners told them the rink will be turned into a children’s play area, but they did not know exact details.

The rink has begun showing its age, and patronage and profits were flagging until recent years, Kanicka said.

When M-M Properties and Invesco Real Estate acquired Plaza of the Americas in December, the partnership announced plans to renovate and rebrand the property. The partnership spent an estimated $100 million for the property at 600-700 N. Pearl St. in the northeast area of downtown.

The purchase included two 25-story office buildings, a 12-story parking garage and the retail atrium that houses the rink. The Marriott City Center Hotel was not part of the sale.

“They told us they’re going to have a change and hold a meeting for all the tenants here, but they haven’t told us anything else,” said Patti Yousefi, who has owned Victoria’s Hallmark, just west of the rink, for 17 years.

“We don’t know if this is going to be a restaurant, a play area or what.”

M-M Properties remained hush-hush Wednesday about its precise intentions.

“We have exciting plans regarding the revitalization of Plaza of the Americas which we aren’t ready to disclose quite yet,” Lana Hathcock, a senior property manager for the company, said in an emailed response to questions about the rink’s future.

Kanicka has managed the rink for seven years. She said it forever holds a special place in the hearts of many who’ve taken or taught lessons there.

“This is a rink where most skaters in Dallas started [skating] or started coaching,” she said. “They’ve all been here, one way or the other. They all love this rink.”

For its official “Breaking the Ice” opening on Oct. 18, 1980, Plaza of the Americas hosted the Beaux Arts Ball, a hard-to-come-by ticket.

Olympic gold medalist Peggy Fleming put on an ice show against the backdrop of twinkling lights and golden snowflakes. Gov. Bill Clements was on hand, as was the mayor, various socialites and comedian Phyllis Diller.

But as The Dallas Morning News reported, “The party was dominated by the ice arena atrium and its two Ice Capades shows.”

The Ice Capades Chalet — the initial name of the rink — reportedly opened for business a month before the grand opening. Over the years, kids celebrated birthdays at the rink and high school students held graduation parties there.

“Friends of mine even had a wedding here,” said Kanicka. “It was a figure skater and a hockey player.”

Abe Haslem Jr., whose father has owned a jewelry store next to the rink for 30 years, held his high school graduation party on the ice last year.

“We played broom ball,” he said.

The younger Haslem, now a freshman at the University of Texas at Dallas, said his friends don’t skate at the rink like they did when they were younger.

“When I was young, it was an everyday thing,” he said. “Not anymore.”

Several parents of kids who take skating lessons there said the rink wasn’t promoted enough to attract new customers.

“You talk to people who’ve been here 50 years and they say, ‘I didn’t even know it was here.’ It’s a shame,” said Daria Dato, 45, a clinical social worker. “I used to teach here in the ’80s. I was a coach.”

Dato used to bring her daughter, Jenna Dato, now 28, to the rink. And just last year, she brought Jenna’s 5-year-old daughter, Aubrey, to the rink so she could learn to skate.

All three were there Tuesday evening for Aubrey’s skating lesson.

They said the rink, which was reduced in size years ago, is a cozy, inviting space, especially for kids.

“We had Aubrey’s fifth birthday party here in July,” said Jenna Dato, adding that her daughter quickly took to the ice. “And we attended another birthday party here last month.”

Kanicka said previous owners had talked about closing the rink years ago but changed their minds after some die-hard patrons protested the move. But this time, she said, the rink’s days appear to be numbered. Even the Zamboni ice-resurfacing machine “is on its last leg.”

Kanicka said she’ll hate to see the rink close but accepts the inevitable.